Knitted metallic fabric



April 25, 1933. F. 15E ANGELIS KNITTED METALLIC FABRIC Filed Sept. 50, 1930 Ullrlu 1NVENToR. IadezzkevjeZS A Now Patented Apr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE y FREDERICK DE ANGELIS, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO METAL TEXTILE CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE KNITTED METALLIC FABRIC' Application led September 30, 1930. Serial No. 485,397.

This invention relates to an improved metallic fabric, and has reference, more par- Y ticularly, to a knitted metallic fabric useful for'many purposes, as e. g. an abrasive material suitable for pot cloths and scouring pads; as an ornamental fabric for trimmings etc.; as a ltering medium, and for `other uses wherein a metallic fabric of durable character or pleasing appearance is a desideratum.

This invention has for its principal object to provide a metallic fabric knitted from a composite metallic material, comprising a carrying cord or strand upon and around which is more or less loosely gimped or convolved coils of a preferably iat or ribbonlike metallic wire this material is so knitted that interlocked loopsof the carrier cord and associated loops drawn from the coils of metallic wire are formed at desired laterally spaced intervals so as to tie or secure the metallic wire coils in groups against undue movement relative to the carrier cord, thus providing substantially straight carrier cord sections between laterally spaced loops, upon which a plurality of wire coils or convolutions, forming a group thereof, are supported and secured against undue sliding displacement on said cord sections. The knitted ma- ?0 terial thus characterized possesses a raised curly metallic napon one face thereof formed by the segregated groups of loose metallic coils, and the material thus formed is soft to the touch, and yet affords an eiiicient abrasive, since, when pressed and rubbed against a resisting surface, the thus secured and supported groups of coils are not unduly displaced, but are suiliciently held to present a multiplicity of knife-like scraping edges to said surface. From the standpoint of .ap-

pearance, the secured groups of coils form an attractive surface nap of curly texture, which, when bright metallic wire is employed, either of flat or round cross-sectional shape, affords a scintillating or glittering effect, whereby the metallic fabric may be used in many ways forA ornamental pur oses. .As a filtering material, when the nove fabric is piled or enfolded upon itself, the secured groups of coils provide a resilient interstitial characteristics, it is preferable that said gimping b comprise a flat or ribbon-like wire mass of labyrinthic character which easily resists tendency to mat too densely, and is therefore -admirably adapted for filtering use.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a face view of the novel metallic fabric made according to and embodying the principles of this inventlon; Figure 2 is an enlarged conventionalized plan view of the novel metallic fabric, to show the structural'formation of the inter- -60 locked loops of carrier cord and metal wire, in relation to the cord sections for supporting the groups of metallic Wire coils; andy Figure 3 is a view showing a length of initial material from which the novel metallic fabric is knitted. Y

Similar characters of reference are employed in said views, to indicate correspondin parts. y

eferrin to the drawing, the novel fabric 70 is knitted om a composite thread or material shown in Figure 3, the same comprising a carrier cord a (which may consist of any flexible material, such e. g. as cotton or other textile yarn, metallic Wire or the like) and a metallic gimpin b. The metallic gimping b may be made o wire of round, angular or flat cross-sectional shape. When,hrowever, the novel fabric is desired to provide abrasive or one of angular cross-,sectional shape. Said gimping b may be made of any desired kind of metal, for both ornamental and abrasive purposes I have found copper to be desirable, in the one case for the reason that it is bright and colorful, and in the other case because it is comparatively non-corrosive and also tough enough to produce desired scraping effects. The gimping I; is more or less loosely wound or convolved upon and around the carrier cord a', so as to form running coils 'loosely strung on the latter.

The com osite thread or material a-b above descri ed,l is fed to a suitable knitting machine, which may be either of the circular t pe for producing tubular fabric or of the at type for producing flat fabric. The needles of the machine are spaced apart at such distances as may be desired to separate 10" the vertical rows of interknitted or interlocked loops according to the horizontal length of intermediate coil groups desired to be formed in the finished fabric. In the operation of knitting the composite thread or material ab, the knitting needles engage the carrier cord together with the strandpf the l metallic gimping, pulling a coil of the lattertogether with a portion of the carrier cord 10 into a loop-formation, comprising a cord loop a and a substantially parallel closely con- -tigous wire loo-p b. The loop-formations thus obtained are interknitted together so as to leave, extending between laterally spaced adjacent loop-formations, horizontally extending carrier cord sections a upon and around which extend a group of coils b. Inasmuch as a metallic loop-portion b is interlocked with each cord loop-portion a', and

2 both such loop-portions a-b are interknit-v fabric. In forming the metallic loop-porl-A tions b with the cord loop portions a', substantially but a single coil of the metallic gimping material b is drawn out or distorted to form the tying, knotting or anchoring structure by which the integrity of the groups mz'fifbcoils b are maintained in the finished a ric.

Having thus described my invention, I

40 1. A metallic fabric, comprising a carrier member having a gimping of metallic material spirally convolved in loose coils around and along the length of the same, said gimped carrier member being knitted to pro- 45. vide interengaged loop-formations each comrising a loop of the carrier member and a oop-portion contiguous thereto drawn out from a coil of said metallic gimping, substantially straight supporting carrier sections extending between horizontally adjacent loop-formations, upon which sections are carried groups of said loose coils, each coil group being segregated from adjacent groups by intervening knitted loop-formations, and said coil oups being anchored against longitudinal isplacement from their j respective carrier sections by the lmitted interlocking engagement of the combined carrier member loops and associated loop-portions drawn from the coils of metallic gimping, all whereby the coil groups are exposed at one face of the fabric to form a raised curly nap thereon. A

2. A metallic fabric, comprising a carrier strand having a gimping of metallic material spirally convolved in loose coils around and along the length of the same, said gimped carrier strand being arranged in substantially parallel courses, with portions of adjacent courses interlocked together at spaced intervals by knitted loops thereof including contiguous loop portions drawn out from the coils of said gimping, .whereby groups of gimping coils are anchored in spaced apart relation against movement relative to said carrier strand throughout the area of the fabric, all whereby the coil groups are exposed at one face of the fabric to form a raised curly nap thereon.

3. A metallic fabric, comprising a carrier strand and a strand of metallic material forming a plurality of groups of coils loosely gimped spirally upon and around said carrier strand, said carrier strand and metallic strand being interknitted together to dispose said coil groups in parallel rows, said interknitted carrier strand and metallic strand forming, at and between the ends of adjacent coil groups combined substantially contiguous parallel loop-forming portions for interlocking engagement with similar loop-forming portions of an adjoining row yof coils, all whereby the coil groups are maintainedindividually segregated one from another and exposed at one face of the fabric to form a raised curl metallic nap thereon. -In testimony, that claim the invention set forth above I have hereunto set my hand this 23rd day of September, 1930.

FREDERICK DE ANGELIS. 

